Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Maintain Lanes for Cars on Seminary

Council Should at Least Occasionally Acquiesce to the Will of the People

I wholeheartedly agree with the recent Federation of Civic Associations position regarding their decision to recommend to the Council not to change the current lane configurations on Seminary Road. Basically, it ain’t broke and it doesn’t need fixing.

Isn’t it long overdue for the City Council to heed the wishes of the citizens who elected them? It is painfully obvious that the City Council relies almost exclusively on its staff and the developers to make all of its important decisions.

Why would the City Council ignore the wishes of over 7,000 plus households and at least eleven Civic Associations, and do the opposite? When we vote for the City Council, we expect them to at least respectfully hear us out, and at least occasionally acquiesce to the will of the people. It is obvious from the Seminary Road fiasco and a number of other contentious City Council actions that the citizens need to elect some new members who will at least listen on occasion.

Part of the problem is that the Alexandria government does not have any checks and balances. One political party is dominant, and furthermore, the City council members are beholden to no one but themselves, since there is no equal representation. This needs to change. Unfortunately, the City Council will never submit a change to our Charter to the General Assembly to change this process, since they are part of the problem. It needs to be done as a rider to a bill that has a good chance of being enacted.